travel

There was a time when Germany was about as uncool as it was possible to be. A mixture of national stereotypes, sporting rivalries and our own Second World War superiority complex placed the poor old Germans at the sharp end of our jokes throughout the entire second half of the twentieth century, as a 2003 campaign by their own Goethe Institute pointed out. Just one decade ago, my decision to study German at university was met with a near universal "Why would you want to do a thing like that?".

But jump forward to 2007, and things couldn't be more different. Whether actually down to the campaign by cultural ambassadors the Goethe Institute, or more likely the post-reunification rehabilitation of Berlin into a mecca of budget rental opportunities for the world's creatives, modern day Germany is quite the cultural hub. If you haven't moved to Berlin yourself, then you probably know someone who has: a whole generation are now kicking themselves for not paying more attention to their German lessons at school.

This new and improved image of German cool extends as far as Mexico, where tucked up next to the US border in the city of Juarez there lies the Germanic-themed Hardpop Bundesbar. Using an antiquated typeface, a Kompakt-esque eagle logo and the odd ironically misplaced Eszett and Umlaut, the club draws upon the extraordinary reputation for electronic music that the Germans have acquired in recent years, as well as the stylish simplicity and understated glamour of German design.

Although not exclusively of German extraction, at weekends you can expect to find guests of the calibre of Michael Mayer, James Holden and Troy Pierce taking on the enviable task of entertaining the excitable mixed Mexican and American crowd; Bill Patrick's übercool Robots party meanwhile is soon to start a regular Juarez residency of the New York nightlife staple. Although on a Thursday night, a slightly incongruous soundtrack of Britpop can be heard rinsing the club's soundsystem...

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I don't know about you, but I am so over slumming it. If I manage to grab a holiday, I want to relax in style, not suffer for the sake of an authentic experience. Eventually I think most of us outgrow the Lonely Planet gap year worthy dedication required to thoroughly "do" each location, in favour of a more laidback approach that embraces holidays - or indeed weekend breaks - as a time for relaxation.

Catering for those of us who want a slightly more luxurious accent to their holiday experience are the Mr & Mrs Smith series of hotel guides, focussing on unique boutique hotels in the UK, Europe and beyond (although the rest of the world is still a little thin on the ground). Perfect for a romantic getaway (if you are into that kind of thing - you pervert), and a welcome change from business chain uniformity.

But you don't even need to buy a guidebook to access their online guides to the various destinations served by Smith-endorsed hotels. Summarising the basics on one simple printable webpage (allbeit with a slightly irritating penchant for all things nouveau riche), the Smith online guides are perfect for those last minute minimum effort breaks. Sometimes there just isn't time for extensive preparation - and it saves you forking out for a fat guidebook at the airport.

It does seem awfully nice of them to provide this information for free, but you can always show your appreciation by booking one of their accompanying hotel recommendations through the website. And if you really like what they do, sign up online for £10 or buy one of the guidebooks to get your own Mr & Mrs Smith membership card, entitling you to special offers on their hotels and bonus champagne, room upgrades or picnic hampers at your chosen destination. If only the rest of life were so easy.

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Collaborative user built sites are a wonderful idea in theory, but often a bit hit and miss in practice. I take just about everything I read on Wikipedia with a pinch of salt, and since even the simple matter of listing a release on Discogs is fraught with errors, don't even get me started on the user comments.

There is certainly a fine art to getting the balance right between giving users the free reign to input their own personal take on matters (thus getting some genuinely alernative voices onto the internet), and simultaneously wielding editor powers in a sensitive fashion to protect your precious site against out and out twonkery.

It may be a little clunky around the edges, but one site that I think just about has the balance right is Time Out's The Other Side website guide to New York, London and Paris. The online accompaniment to their new The Other Side series of DVD tour plus mix CD by the likes of Fischerspooner, Black Strobe and Damian Lazarus (none of which I have seen or heard so I can't vouch for them), the site mingles recommendations from scenesters like James Lavelle, Damian Lazarus, Moby and Larry Tee with tips from normal users on where to eat, shop, and go out. Navigate a city using the recommendations of faces who you like the look of, although by this method it is, somewhat confusingly, possible to start out in London and end up in New York.

For a much more lo-fi guide to the provinces of the UK outside London (which may or may not be the centre of the known universe), take a look at the skateboarder-centric Knowhere Guide. Compiled using a similar process of user-led submissions, the site contains recommendations from a young persons point of view on places that no one else would ever bother writing about. Although the rather predictable propensity of young'uns to think that their hometown is crap does seem to have enraged the oldies over the years...

travel

Please forgive me for using the ultimate headline cliche for an article about bikes. It is a joke, honest.

Anyway, riding a bike is the last thing I would want to do in this weather, but Transport For London seem to reckon that with the right winter cycling accessories you don't need to switch to nice warm public transport during the piddle months. Which is why they've teamed up with the aptly-named Evans Cycles to offer a 20% discount off selected cycling items - find your nearest using TFL's interactive map of London's cycle shops. Everyone needs a bright yellow cycling jacket - trust me. And although I don't think this is quite what TFL had in mind, these rude boy lights for your bike would probably help you be seen in the dark too...

Bike lovers may also want to add their beloved to the Immobilise Register, a TFL endorsed bike register which should increase the chances of the two of you being reunited in the event of loss, theft or a bikenapping. Mobile phones, car stereos, computers, cameras and mp3 players also welcome on their own Immobilise Register.

travel

Transplanting some of the madness of Glastonbury to the East Sussex countryside, fresh from the Somerset mudbath festival fixturess Lost Vagueness hold their second solo event this August (12-14th).

As every Glasto-report will tell you, the Lost Vagueness crew are responsible for a sizeable proportion of that festival's 'madness', and cabaret, burlesque, eccentricity, glamour and mayhem promise to be the order of the day at the crew's own venture.

A £65 ticket (£75 after August 8th) will get you access to free camping, the casino, ballroom, a mass wedding, a dressing-up box, pool parties and The Chap magazine's alternative olympic games featuring such noble events as cucumber discus throwing.

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You might recognise these from their guest appearance in Big Brother, which would normally be a good reason for us not to feature them. But these really are the ultimate suitcase, and since it is summer holiday time you will be needing one.

Lugging most wheeled suitcases around an airport is almost as much trouble as carrying them, as tipping them to the necessary dragging angle still requires you to support their bulky weight. But with four wheels on the bottom Hideo Wakamatsu's brightly coloured range of suitcases can be pushed and pulled in any direction with minimum load bearing strain on your part.

When The 'Brow went to Japan, everyone in our check-in queue had one of these, and you'll be needing one too. Get the medium one for £179, large for £199, including free delivery from Avant Garde Travel. Selfridges and House of Fraser have them too, although you'll pay an inexplicable £20 - £30 more for them in House of Fraser.

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Transport for London are seriously considering extending the time of the last tube home on a Friday or Saturday night to 1.30am, which would allow all of us to stay out later and drink more.

Take part in their public consultation now and seize your chance to tell them "yes Ken, this is one of your better ideas".

travel

I have failed to find a website for Madrid clubnight Mondo, which is normally good enough reason for me to leave something off The Monobrow. But Mondo is so good that I'm going to write about it anyway.

The Mondo crew take over Madrid's compact Sala STELLA (Arlaban 7) every Thursday and Saturday for a "night of funk and electronica", inviting along the cream of the European New Wave as their occasional guests. But a Mondo residents night is also well worth a visit for Gerardo Niva's seriously impressive fun-packed disco-tech-tronica excursions down a more truly experimental track than most "new wave" DJs would dare.

If you are headed to Madrid any time soon, then you might be interested to know that Mondo hosts Frenchies Ivan "Blackstrobe" Smagghe and Dan "Freak n'Chic" Ghennacia on Thursday 20th January, and Nathan "Bunny Boy" Fake on Thursday 27th January. If your trip is further in the future then I'm afraid there is no Mondo homepage to help you, but you can try the Agenda section of the Clubbing Spain site, or look out for fliers on your must-do shopping trip along the Calles Fuencarral and the indoor market of the Mercado de Fuencarral.

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Once a hotel, a prison, artist workshops and now back to being a hotel again, Amsterdam's new Lloyd Hotel is a stylish option for groups (think stag nights and hen parties) taking one of those hedonistic breaks for which the city is so famous.

With the most basic double rooms with shared wash facilities starting at 80 Euros and running up to 300 Euros for the most exceptional of the individually designed rooms, Lloyd Hotel is the perfect solution to the inevitable diverse accomodation and budget demands of any large group of people. Design is modern, minimal and functional, with a penchant for quirky in-room bathroom facilities - so be wary about sharing a room with anyone you are not comfortable peeing in front of!

Situated in the harbour area, the hotel is not exactly handy for the city centre, although it is just around the corner from the swish Panama club, theatre and restaurant. And when you do get back to the hotel, you can always adjourn to the 24 hour restaurant to resume festivities, where snack bar style food and beer is available throughout the night.

travel

The 2005 brochure from Wild Frontiers, a travel company providing adventures for those travellers who prefer to leave the organising to someone else, offers a new series of film themed holidays taking movie buff travellers to the actual locations used in some of the world's most famous films. A glamorous 'From Russia With Love' Bond adventure is one thing, but an 'Apocalypse Now' style holiday is a whole other matter... read more...